1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to balls commonly used in sporting events and, more particularly, to such balls into which metal cores have been incorporated.
2. Description of Related Art
In certain sports, such as baseball and softball, it is desirable for athletes to be able to throw a ball so that it travels a long distance at a high speed and so that it arrives at a precise location. That is, the distance, accuracy and speed with which a player can throw a ball are important skills.
Recognizing the foregoing, many players undertake certain activities to improve their throwing skills. These activities include warming up, exercising and practicing. Warmup activities are those designed to ready a person's muscles for upcoming, more strenuous activities. Exercise encompasses all of those activities undertaken to strengthen or hone the muscles that are employed in motions commonly executed in a particular sport. Practice refers to activities undertaken directly to improve an athlete's skill in a particular sport or event. Some activities fall into more than one of the categories set forth above.
Regulation equipment is frequently used in warmup and practice activities. For example, a softball pitcher may softly throw a number of pitches with a regulation ball in order to warm up. Regulation equipment is frequently used in practice or "scrimmage" games. Regulation equipment is somewhat less frequently used for exercise purposes.
Of course, there is no requirement that regulation equipment be employed in warmup, exercise and practice activities. In fact, certain benefits based upon the use of special equipment for warmup, exercise and practice activities have long been appreciated. Such special equipment may serve a variety of functions, such as protecting athletes from injury during non-game situations, eliminating the necessity of players performing certain functions (e.g., a pitching machine being used rather than a pitcher), and enhancing the benefit of actions undertaken by a training athlete.
A common tool used to enhance the benefits of actions undertaken by athletes is a weight. The exercise benefits of lifting and training with weights are well known. Muscles that manipulate weights strengthen. Additionally, weights are recognized as being valuable in warming up. For example, weighted bats are used by batters to warmm up. A example of such a bat may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,926 to Owen. Use of donut-shaped weights in connection with a bat so as to form a relatively heavy bat for warmup swinging purposes are also known. Additionally, weighted balls such as the weighted baseball disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,793 to Lombardo and the weighted football disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,597,308 to Brandt have heretofore been developed.
Notwithstanding the widely recognized benefits of such weighted balls, heretofore no one has disclosed or suggested a simple, easily manufactured, easy-to-use weighted ball. This is particularly surprising in view of the rapidly increasing popularity of certain sports involving balls. Softball, in particular, has become extremely popular. Countless softball teams have been formed in the United States and abroad during the past several years. Special balls have been developed based upon whether fast pitch or slow pitch softball is to be played or whether men or women are playing. Notwithstanding the fact that special softballs have been developed for, e.g., fast pitch, slow pitch, and women's softball, heretofore no one has conceived of or reduced to practice a weighted softball especially suitable for use in warming up.